Today, I attended a NaNoWriMo panel at MileHiCon. Since I’m a NaNo veteran, there wasn’t a lot that I didn’t already know, but I was intrigued by the discussions of NaNoWriMo as a social activity rather than a writing exercise.

I have to confess, I’ve never attended any of the official NaNoWriMo functions in my area. Nor have I been active on the NaNo forums, official or otherwise. I may try to change that this year, just because I’m curious, but I’m not sure whether writing in a group of strangers would be a help or a hindrance. I could see the potential for energy and inspiration, and I know the value of sitting down to write somewhere other than your usual “spot”. But I can also see that it could be very distracting.

I tend to rely more on my friends–online and in person–for support and encouragement. In the past, I’ve tried to post daily updates (which, I’ll be honest, doesn’t usually last more than about four days into the month) showing my word count and discussing progress on the story. They’ve previously been posted to my LiveJournal account, but this year, they’ll probably go here, and possibly get cross-posted to there.

In the past, I’ve found my friends on LiveJournal to be a great help. The first year I did NaNoWriMo, I was trying to decide between several story ideas, and a poll of my LJ friends helped me pick the idea I finally went with. A couple of years later, when a character needed a new first name, my friends list again came to my rescue. So I definitely still want (no, NEED) their support.

And, of course, people who are friends with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ will probably see occasional random posts/tweets/status updates from me on the subject. I’ll try not to be too obnoxious about it, though. Promise.

But this year…this year might finally be the year I go to one of those “in-person” things. I hear there’s a meet-up at Panera Bread, Iliff & Peoria, on Tuesdays. That could (sorta-kinda) be on my way home from work….

What support systems do other people rely on while tackling insane projects?